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Indonesia: National Commission on Violence Against Women Press Release

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WLUML Networkers

Press Release on The Legislation of the Qanun on Jinayah (Islamic Criminal Law): The National Government of Indonesia Has Failed to Enforce the Constitution, September 15 2009.

The Aceh Legislative Body (DPR) has passed the local legislation (qanun) on Islamic crime law (jinayah) on Monday, September 14 2009 by ignoring the objection of the Government of Aceh and civil society communities against the qanun. The most controversial point is that the qanun adopts lashes as a form of punishment for a crime, implements stoning in the Indonesian legal systems and expands Islamic jurisdiction into criminal law to which national law has its legal authority. The National Commission on Anti-Violence against Women declares that stoning and lashes are cruel punishments and inhuman, undermine human dignity and are against the Constitution of 1945 article 28 I (1).
The National Commission emphasizes that the passing of the Qanun on Jinayah in the context of Indonesian policies prove the failure of the Government of Indonesia that has responsibility and duty for preventing the rise of local policies that are oppositional against the national constitutions and the Indonesian Constitution of 1945. The special authority for Aceh mandated by the national constitution cannot legitimize the discrimination and inhumanity against people everywhere.

The National Commission strongly encourages human right and pro-democracy societies in Indonesia to work hard on proposing a judicial review of the qanun to the Constitutional Court (MK) to the Law No 11/2006 on the Government of Aceh (LOGA) to which Aceh Legislative Members use as a legal source to pass the qanun.
The National Commission insists State’s institutions to take serious actions to enforce civil rights in Indonesia, including in Aceh guaranteed by the constitutions:

1. The Governor of Aceh has to take a serious action to postpone the implementation of the Qanun on Jinayah and openly and comprehensively support the judicial review of the qanun.

2. The Minister of Domestic Affairs has to improve the effectiveness of the Department of Domestic Affairs in preventing the creation of discriminatory local regulations that are oppositional against the national constitution.

3. The President of the Republic of Indonesia has to take a political action by issuing the Presidential Instruction for all government officials in the ministries and local government to conduct a comprehensive review to discriminatory local and unconstitutional regulations and initiate agendas to repeal the regulations.